Teen Titans #8 Review and **SPOILERS**

Messing with the Timestream... Again... Still...

Teen Titans #8

"The Lazarus Contract, Part 2"

Story By: Priest, Benjamin Percy & Dan Abnett

Script By: Benjamin Percy

Breakdowns By: Phil Hester

Pencils By: Khoi Pham

Inks By: Wade Von Grawbadger

Colors By: Jim Charalampidis

Letters By: Corey Breen

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: May 17, 2017

Heyyy, it's crossover time.

Been looking forward to seeing both teams of Titans in the same book... let's find out if it was worth the wait!

What Happened?

Wally West (the new one) meets a friendly one-eyed motorist, in need of some aid in the form of auto-repair.  To thank the lad, the fella buys him a (possibly probably definitely roofied) hamburger.

At Titans Tower-West, Damian informs the team about the run of missing speedsters... and finding the tracking button he'd placed on nu-Wally on his own person, fears the worst might have occurred.

We finally get around to picking up where Titans #11 left off.  The Wally's are face to face... with Deathstroke revealed as both of their captor.  Nu-Wally takes this reveal rather poorly... he feels as though there's nobody he can trust.  Barry never told him about a second Wally... and Deathstroke didn't tell him he'd roofied his hamburger.

Titans-East use their computer system to try to deduce where their Wally might have vanished to.  It's not long before Deathstroke's masked mug appears on the screen... discussing a Lazarus Contract.  Omen notices that Nightwing reacts strangely to this... but he remains tight-lipped.

The Teen Titans arrive, things get heated... but cool down before it comes to blows.  Damian accuses Dick of making a deal with Deathstroke... which, he admits... he totally did.

Back with the Wally's... Deathstroke debilitates (real) Wally, and takes the new one on a tour of his failures, in attempt to persuade the lad into taking him back in time.  We see Rose Wilson in a hospital bed, Joseph appears to be in a sanitarium, and Grants is... well, dead.  He promises if nu-Wally helps him, he'd be saving more lives than just Grant's.  Should Wally agree... he will give up being Deathstroke, forever.

Wally agrees to lend a hand... and, unwittingly, a whole lot of Speed Force power.  This chapter concludes with the Amalgamated Titans of Both Coasts finding their way through Slade's hideout... and coming face to face with a lightning-kissed Deathstroke the Terminator!

What I Dug?

For starters, I was super-relieved that the Lazarus Contract has nothing to do with Ra's al Ghul.

Even though they're not "my" Titans, it was still cool seeing both teams face-to-face.  Jackson and Garth's interaction was especially nice.  Hopefully Garth will be able to help Jackson find out more about his origin and powers.

What I Didn't?

I'm having trouble with the entire concept.  (The Real) Wally's whole thing since his return has been based on how flimsy and screw-with-able the timestream can be.  It should be a no-brainer for either team of Titans to turn down Deathstroke's request.  Maybe it's just me, but it feels like we might be messing with the timestream a bit too often nowadays... 

Now, we know that (new) Wally's got some trust issues, but his reaction to being duped by Deathstroke was a bit over the top.  I mean, he only knew Slade for as long as it took to fix his car and have a burger... and he's comparing it to being betrayed by a family member.  Not feeling it.

Not a fault with this issue really, but I really hate that the Wolfman/Perez run is non-canonical.  It really isn't a surprise, but it was with this issue that I kinda feel socked in the gut by it.  Roy mentions he knows Starfire... like the rest of the team wouldn't.  Raven and Beast Boy are part of the younger Titans, rather than alongside Dick and Donna.  Full disclosure, that probably affected my enjoyment of this issue a bit too much.

Bits and Pieces:

If you're able to let go of "the way things used to be" there is plenty to enjoy here.  While perhaps a bit weaker than the opening chapter of the Lazarus Contract, this issue does move the story along.  The novelty of seeing the disparate Titans interact along with the cliffhanger make this issue worth your time.

7.0/10